In general, when a user turns off a power switch of an electrical device, electric power related to a basic operation of the electrical device is cut off, but a current is continuously supplied to basic elements (a controller and the like) of the electrical device to allow the electrical device to react and operate immediately after the user turns on the electrical device. Such a current is referred to as “dark current”.
For example, when a vehicle is turned off, a current supplied from a battery to various load devices, such as a starting device and a radio, is interrupted. However, the current is continuously supplied to a controller providing various convenience functions such as remote key entry (RKE) even in a state in which the vehicle is turned off. Thus, if it takes a long time before a newly manufactured vehicle is delivered to a customer, or a newly manufactured vehicle is not operated for a long time for export, the battery may be discharged since the dark current always flows in the load devices using the battery power (B+) of the vehicle.
A conventional dark current controller is mounted in a smart junction box (SJB) located between the battery and the load devices and controls a dark current flowing to the load devices. In other words, the dark current controller includes a mode switch as a physical switch. The mode switch is initially set to an OFF state (dark current interruption). The dark current controller interrupts the dark current flowing to the load devices.
In the conventional dark current controller, the mode switch is set to OFF before the vehicle is delivered to the customer to interrupt the dark current (pre-delivery mode). The mode switch is set to ON when the vehicle is delivered to the customer (post-delivery mode). However, this operation is performed manually by a dealer. The dealer often forgets to turn on the mode switch and delivers the vehicle to the customer without setting the mode switch to ON.
When the mode switch is kept in the OFF state even after the vehicle is delivered to the customer, various convenience functions do not operate normally. This may not only cause discomfort to the customer but also reduce reliability of the vehicle.
The conventional dark current controller is manually controlled by a vehicle operator when switching its mode from the pre-delivery mode to the post-delivery mode. As a result, the reliability of the vehicle may be reduced.